Looks like I won the race against f2s to see whether
I would be back in school before my site was back up. And what waits for
me in the victory circle: a grammar midterm, an eight chapter Kanji test,
and my website is still down on f2s. Hey, look over there...

BAM!!!!!!!

I'm back, and things aren't just new, they're baku-new.
New web host, new features, and a new member to the Japanese royal family.
No, really!

One of the more visible changes is the newly improved
flash animation that you see over on the left. Aside from improved day/night
differentiation, it now shows the weather. If I had internet access at
home I would rig it to read the weather data for Tokyo off of the Weather
Channel, but for now *I* have the power to determine what sort of day
the citizens of "Little Tokyo" will be having. That means that
the weather will usually be a day or two behind. But then again, America
is a day or two behind anyway.

Today I am a benevolent god. It has rained once in the
last 2 months. To show off the awesome power of my new toy, I thought
maybe I would make it pour. However, while testing the new animation I
thought it looked too nice and peaceful with just a few friendly looking
clouds. Enjoy before I realize the full weight of my powers.

Also, I believe you'll notice that the menu bar at the
top has a few new additions. One is that the sun no longer moves like
it did in the old days. In testing I discovered that moving that sun took
up more computer power than the whole series of events making those clouds
on the left move (any of you flash programmers out there, how do you feel
about the new additions anyway? I'm looking for feedback). Aside from
that, I have removed (perhaps temporarily hint hint) the hardly functional
games button.

But, in its place, I have added a reviews
section to the site. Right now I have just a single concert review, but
looking into my crystal ball I see many, many new reviews coming in the
near future. In fact, one day this section may turn into its very own
website.

The reasoning for this is that reviews take up a lot
of room in these brief news updates and I don't feel that I have previously
given the proper analysis to all of the new stuff I've found here. As
of right now though, it's just a review of the Cruyff/Capsule Giants/Velvet
Punch show at Heaven's Door on December 2.

As if all this newness wasn't enough, there are serious
updates to some of the older sections of the site. Sometimes I fell like
I have too much content.

Creating the Beat Pops and Capsule Giants galleries
made me think, "If this is going to continue I should make a Reader's
Digest version of all the live action here". And that is exactly
what I have done, with the
Gallery of Live Music Japan. Right now the gallery is just selected
photos from the Capsule Giants and Beat Pops shows (as well as advanced
coverage of the area around Heaven's Door), but with the addition of new
shows, new photos will be added (similar to the Wacky
Japan and Tokyo Life
galleries).

After my humongous and painful Advanced Grammar mid-term
Brian and Tomoko (his Japanese Language partner from the US, see the 10/6
entry for more info on this "Tomoko") came to Sangenjaya. We
ate at a remarkably cheap gyoza restaurant and played a few rounds of
pool at the professional pool hall a few blocks from my house.

That came out fairly interesting since Tomoko had never
played pool and Brian had only played pool twice. We were learning a new
game too. So, Tomoko did really well for her first game, though still
quite a beginner, Brian reflected his two games of experience, and I was
the perfect manifestation of how much I just flat out suck at pool. Well,
except for during the beginning of the second game where I sank 4 balls
in a row.

Afterwards we had tea and cake at a coffee shop across
the street from the pool hall that I had been meaning to go to for some
time. Overall quite fun.

Today I had the largest Kanji test I have ever seen.
After surviving it, I went home and went took a nap. For the last few
weeks I have been sick like a mofo. In fact, there are five empty cartons
of orange juice sitting in my kitchen. And I just started buying this
orange juice two days ago.

I thought, hey, maybe I'll study for my Kanji test on
Wednesday even though I feel absolutely terrible. To add some sort of
ambient noise I turned on the TV. Yet, after a few minutes, I was greeted
by the largest media buzz in Japan since the September 11 terrorism attacks.
Except, this time it was good.

Masako-sama (I'm not sure what her station is exactly,
maybe the Emperor's Wife?) went to the hospital to deliver her first baby.
This is huge news for a number of reasons, but to begin, she had already
lost two babies at or before birth.

What makes this all the more interesting is that the
Japanese royal family (at least according to legend) has been one unbroken
line since it's inception in the 7th Century (I think, I can't do proper
research right now, gomen-ne). So if Masako-sama were never able to deliver
a child, this would be the first time in over a thousand years that Japan
would have to devise some scheme to find an Emperor. Therefore, it's just
wonderful that she finally was able to have a child.

To complicate matters, the child happens to be a girl.
Her name is Aiko-sama, and on the day of her naming ceremony a train station
that shares the same characters as the name "Aiko" had some
huge record breaking sale day

But I've digressed...what makes things interesting is
that because the child is a girl, the next Emperor of Japan will most
likely be a woman. Though not entirely unprecedented, I think several
hundred years ago there was an Empress; it is fairly uncommon. And then,
of course, there are people here who shudder at the thought of a female
emperor. It's good that they'll have to open their eyes a little.

So right now Japan is in a fantastic state of ecstasy.
There are festivals everywhere and whenever the news interviews people
on the street they always smile and say how wonderful the whole thing
is. Prime Minister Koizumi even gave his own congratulations, in that
brief, everything-I-say-sounds-like-I'm-trying-to-be-cool way of his.

Why is it that big news always happens when I'm trying
to study? Anyway...

On behalf of the "staff" here at Szkandelous.com:
Masako-sama, omedeto-gozaimasu.

Capsule Giants concert at Heaven's Door. Everyone was
really good and it was all over by 10:30 so I still had time to go home
and sleep at a decent hour. Couldn’t beat that with seven sticks.
Too bad I couldn't sleep.

Finally got out of Sangenjaya for a trip to Keio to
watch my club play at Mita-sai (this huge festival at Keio which is why
I have the week off). There was a Minor Threat cover band, Puffy (this
cute Japanese girl group) done metal cover band, Stooges, Stray Cats,
and Red Hot Chili Peppers cover bands. My friend Minmi/Min-pei played
guitar in both the RHCP and Minor Threat cover bands and the club's president,
Monji, sang in the Minor Threat cover band.

Perhaps the best, like last time, was the Stray Cats
cover band, man can that guy wail.

Sadly, my Ramones cover band was never meant to be.
Maybe we'll play the next festival.

Thanksgiving Day. To make us exchange kids feel better
about the whole ordeal, the UC Study Center threw a huge Thanksgiving
Party. Met a bunch of kids from ICU as well as saw a bunch of the old
JLI crew. Good times.

Afterwards, since we happened to be in the neighborhood,
Brian and I went drinking with my friend Maya who I met at Heaven's
Door.And somehow we made it home in time for the last train (still
surprised).

Anyway the site was down for a while so go check the
previous post, it's lame!